Beijing Condemns Washington's Blacklisting of Alibaba and Baidu

Beijing today strongly opposed Washington's blacklisting of Chinese companies, after adding e-commerce "Alibaba" and search engine "Baidu" to a list allegedly supporting the Chinese military. The U.S. Defense Department revealed these classifications Monday, months after a prior version was withdrawn without explanation. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian opposed the U.S. expanding its national security concept and "unjustified suppression" of Chinese companies. He urged Washington to correct its practices, warning Beijing would act to protect its firms' interests. The updated list includes 80 other affiliated companies, closely resembling a prior February version, with re-inclusion of memory chip makers "Changxin Memory Technologies" and "Yangtze Memory Technologies," previously removed. The Pentagon's announcement tests relations between the world's top economies. It follows a Beijing agreement last month between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to stabilize bilateral ties. Trump had invited Xi to visit Washington in September. Targeted companies include major AI tech firms like "Alibaba," "Baidu," and "Tencent" (already listed). "Alibaba" called its inclusion an "error" and hinted at legal action. Its statement asserted "no basis whatsoever," as it's neither a "Chinese military company" nor part of any civil-military integration strategy. "Baidu" described accusations as "absolutely baseless." A spokesman rejected its inclusion for lack of justification, confirming recourse to all available means to remove its name. Though these classifications carry no immediate legal consequences for most companies, they are considered a step potentially paving the way for more stringent future measures.